Texas Leads Nation In Number & Percentage Of Uninsured

From the San Antonio Express-News: 

More Texans are getting health insurance, but the state still leads the nation in the percentage of residents without it, according to the Census Bureau. 

Data released Thursday as part of the American Community Survey shows that nearly 5 million Texans are without health insurance, or about 16.6 percent of the population, which is more than double the national percentage of 8. 

There are 4,899,000 Texans who are not insured, which is almost double the 2.49 million who are without insurance in California, the state with the second-most residents without health care coverage. Behind Texas in the percentage of uninsured residents are Georgia and Oklahoma, which are tied at 11.7 percent. 

According to the data, 3.98 million Texans between the ages of 19 and 64 do not have health insurance. Another 854,000 residents under the age of 19 and 69,000 over the age of 65 are also not insured. . . .

According to a 2019 study by the Texas Alliance for Health Care, a lack of health insurance creates issues for hospitals, physicians and Texas residents. The study found that while in 2016, unsubsidized and uncompensated care cost $3.5 billion, that number could rise to $12.4 billion by 2040 if no policy changes are made. Lost earnings and poor health due to those without insurance could be as high as $178.5 billion by 2040 without policy changes.

NOTE - About 10.9% of all Texas children are uninsured.